With the majority of members of his first crop just now turning three by the calendar, two-time Horse of the Year CURLIN is the #6 sophomore sire by earnings, the #3 sire by graded horses, and the #3 sire by black-type runners.

CURLIN’s newest stakes winner came on May 26, when his 3yo daughter Stopshoppingdebbie won the Seattle H. by daylight. The Northwest Farms homebred, a 3/4 to MSW Smarty Deb (by SMART STRIKE), won off by seven lengths on debut last year and was sent off the 3-2 choice. She’s trained by Tom Wenzel.

The early talent shown by CURLIN’s runners has been exemplified by Dogwood Stable’s Palace Malice, the Lane’s End-bred and -sold colt who was beaten just a neck when second in the G1 Blue Grass S. at Keeneland. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Palace Malice was also a close-up third in the G2 Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds, and heads next to the G1 Belmont S.!

• Blue Violet, placed in the G3 Rachel Alexandra S. Owned and bred by Susan Knoll and trained by Larry Jones, who said after the Rachel Alexandra, “This filly’s getting better. I had her mother [Gasia, by Silver Deputy], and I’m seeing a very similar pattern, but this filly is getting better faster than her mother did, and her mother was a G2 horse. Every race is a continued improvement.”

With members of CURLIN’s first crop impressing horsemen, it’s no surprise members of his second crop were popular at the spring juvenile-in-training sales. His horses included:

• $270,000, f, CURLIN–Dignified Diva (Meadowlake) – OBSMAR – Consigned by Eisaman Equine and purchased by Stonestreet Stables representative John Moynihan. The half-sister to SW A Little Gem had worked an eye-catching eighth in :10 flat at the sale’s under-tack preview, and was acquired by the man who helped purchase CURLIN privately for Stonestreet. The filly was bred by Martin Cherry

• $170,000, f, CURLIN–Giant Canal (Giant’s Causeway) – OBSMAR – Granddaughter of Grade 3 winner Panama Canal, by GULCH, the filly was hammered down to F. Thomas Conway. She was bred by New Life Stable Inc. and had worked an eighth in :10 3/5. Eisaman Equine consigned

Recently, CURLIN has seen a new wave of his 3-year-olds coming on in the last two months:

• Thats Our Princess, a Gustav Schickedanz homebred filly who won off by 4 1/4 lengths in a six-furlong MSW at Woodbine

• Butterfly McQueen, owned by Sir A. Ferguson, G. Mason & P. Done and trained by Andrew Balding, who was sent off as the 4-7 favorite at Lingfield, “raced with enthusiasm behind the leaders throughout the early stages. Coasting to the front passing the three-furlong pole, the bay was under no pressure en route to recording a facile nine-length success.”

• Atlantide (Jpn), who romped by six lengths in a maiden special weight in her track debut at Hanshin

• A Shin Epona, a $170k Stonestreet bred and sold filly, galloped off in a grassy MSW by 3 1/2 lengths at Hanshin

• Kara’s Match Point, a $200,000 KEESEP yearling who won a six-furlong MSW at Aqueduct for trainer Linda Rice

• Another Flashback won a Golden Gate Msw by 2 1/4 lengths for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer

Other impressive maiden winners by CURLIN this year include Curly Top (Santa Anita), Jias Curls (Oaklawn), Hopelands (Sam Houston), etc.

So what’s all this mean? It means keep an eye on CURLIN – things are about to get exciting! Oh, and call Gemma or Jill to discuss a season!